


The Phoenix-Dragon Problem

by dk323



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Merlin Holidays, Modern AU, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-12
Updated: 2012-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-29 09:39:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/318487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dk323/pseuds/dk323
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Merlin humour Morgana and participate in her soul bonding ritual with allegedly genuine phoenix and dragon eggs. The soul bonding was meant to be a symbolic thing as Arthur and Merlin celebrate three years of being a couple. Except everything changes for the two of them after the soul bonding. What they discover will change their world forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Phoenix-Dragon Problem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [castmeaway](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=castmeaway).



**Title:** The Phoenix-Dragon Problem  
 **Recipient:** [](http://castmeaway.livejournal.com/profile)[**castmeaway**](http://castmeaway.livejournal.com/)  
 **Author:** dk323  
 **Rating:** PG-13  
 **Pairings:** Merlin/Arthur, Morgana, Gwaine (cameo), off-screen: Freya, Gwen/Lancelot  
 **Word Count:** 9,245  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Summary:** Arthur and Merlin humour Morgana and participate in her soul bonding ritual with allegedly genuine phoenix and dragon eggs. The soul bonding was meant to be a symbolic thing as Arthur and Merlin celebrate three years of being a couple. Except everything changes for the two of them after the soul bonding. What they discover will change their world forever.  
 **Author's Notes:** A Modern!AU fic. This fic was written for [](http://castmeaway.livejournal.com/profile)[**castmeaway**](http://castmeaway.livejournal.com/) as a part of the [](http://merlin-holidays.livejournal.com/profile)[**merlin_holidays** *](http://merlin-holidays.livejournal.com/) fic exchange. Prompts/kinks/tropes fulfilled: accidental soul bonding, h/c, possessive!Arthur. Thank you to A8c_sock and Heartsastereo for your beta work. I appreciate it!  
 **Disclaimer:** The characters depicted herein belong to Shine and BBC. I make no profit from this endeavor.

~ * ~

“This will all end badly, Merlin. I just know it,” Arthur warned him firmly.

He and Merlin were at Morgana’s. Arthur had dragged Merlin into the kitchen – informing Morgana that he needed to discuss something with Merlin that couldn’t possibly wait. Maybe he could talk some sense into Merlin. Convince him that this was ridiculous and that they shouldn’t even have come this evening to participate in Morgana’s soul bonding ritual.

“This is Morgana we’re talking about. My half-mad sister,” he reminded his boyfriend of three years.

Merlin wasn’t giving in. He looked a little annoyed, sighing shortly before he said, “You’re being paranoid, Arthur. It’s just a bit of fun…a symbolic thing. Can’t you accept that Morgana is doing something nice for us in honour of our three year anniversary? She offered, and I’m sure I didn’t hear her cackle evilly.”

Arthur gave him a look, not quite appreciating Merlin’s humour at the moment. Sometimes he thought he could recall Morgana cackling as if from a strange dream, or more like a nightmare. “All right, but I will be telling you ‘I told you so’ afterwards. Not every sibling relationship is the same as the one you have with Freya.”

“We’re twins, so we can’t help but be close. It’s in our DNA...” Merlin paused, appearing thoughtful. “Or I could be making that up. I don’t know. Anyway, Morgana’s nice to me. She really doesn’t seem that bad.”

“You’ve only known her for a few years, I’ve been stuck with her my whole life,” Arthur argued. At Merlin’s frown, Arthur relented. “All right. All right. We’ll do her soul bonding ritual. I hope for both our sakes that it turns out to be purely symbolic and nothing strange happens.”

Merlin crossed his arms. “I would appreciate it if you would let go of your paranoia regarding Morgana, at least for this evening. Please. Just smile.”

Arthur only managed a half-smile. Merlin gave him an unimpressed look. He smiled more fully to appease Merlin.

Merlin shook his head and sighed. “Look at us. It’s our anniversary, and we’re having a row,” he remarked sadly.

Arthur moved to kiss him, saying, “Now we aren’t,” against Merlin’s lips, his voice soft and apologetic. Merlin smiled, returning the kiss in kind.

When they returned to the living room, Morgana smiled pleasantly at the both of them and thanked Merlin for convincing Arthur to participate. She said that Arthur had always been a rather stubborn prat. It was lucky that he had found Merlin – otherwise Arthur would have been intolerable for the rest of his life.

“Hey, hold on!” Arthur exclaimed at Morgana’s critique of him. “I’m not that bad. And, Merlin, _don’t encourage her_ ,” he told him when he saw Merlin ready to discuss the matter with Morgana.

“Spoilsport,” Merlin said cheerfully to him.

Arthur muttered ‘Idiot.’ in return, but with little intent. Merlin patted him on the head in affection, chuckling softly.

“All right, boys. We should get started,” Morgana declared.

She directed Arthur and Merlin to sit on the floor cross-legged opposite each other on the carpeted floor.

Then she took out two silken cloths – a red one and a white one. Morgana sat off to the side, the pieces of silk in hand. Arthur gave her a distrusting look while Merlin appeared curious as to what Morgana would do.

“Put your right hand out, Merlin,” Morgana directed him.

He did so, and when she wrapped the white cloth around Merlin’s hand, Arthur couldn’t resist commenting, saying it was typical that Merlin would get that colour of cloth.

Then Morgana retorted in an all too polite tone, “But of course, Arthur, you would get the red cloth since you have a bloodied soul.”

Arthur glared at her.

Merlin gave a long sigh. “Can’t have a moment’s peace with you two,” he remarked resignedly.

“The white cloth symbolizes defying death,” Morgana pressed on, smoothly preventing Arthur from voicing his opinion. “--that the soul bond you two will share will truly last forever. Even death won’t sever the bond.”

Once Merlin’s hand was fully wrapped with the white silk cloth, Morgana turned to Arthur.

Following what Merlin had done, Arthur put out his right hand and Morgana wrapped the red cloth around it.

Morgana explained, “The red cloth symbolizes fire and passion. That the love you two share will be a fire that shall never wane. That your passion for one another remains strong thanks to the soul bond.”

“So the red doesn’t mean blood then?” Arthur wondered. “Since I have a ‘bloodied soul’ as you said…” he reminded Morgana in a deceptively innocent tone of voice.

Merlin couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

Undeterred, Morgana reasoned, “Red can also symbolize life’s blood – the blood that runs through your veins, your arteries, your heart, your a--”

Arthur glared at her. “You’re just having me on now,” he cut in.

Morgana smiled. “This is _my_ ritual, dear brother, so your feedback is not welcome. Just be satisfied with my symbolism because that’s all you’re going to get. You should be grateful I didn’t make red mean a bloodied animal,” she told him, though there was a warning in her words as if she had half a mind to change the meaning to just that.

“Can we please just continue with this without arguing?” Merlin pleaded. He turned to Arthur and he asked him, “Arthur, I love you, but if you could just shut up for the rest of this soul bonding ritual, that’d be great.”

Arthur grudgingly acquiesced, feeling guilty at the upset look on Merlin’s face that he had had a hand in placing there. If only Morgana wasn’t so _Morgana_.

Morgana finished wrapping the red cloth around Arthur’s hand, and he swore that she did the wrapping a little more tightly than she needed to. But he bit his tongue and didn’t say anything. It wasn’t worth arguing about -- especially after Merlin’s warning.

Morgana instructed them to touch their wrapped palms together—open and flat against one another. She spoke words in a sibilant language that Arthur knew Merlin would think was Parseltongue. Arthur wanted to groan; wondering if this meant that Morgana was cursing them now.

Maybe Merlin was right about his paranoia thing with Morgana. Arthur had to admit it was a bad habit of his.

Arthur tried his best to let the observation go. Maybe he was simply hearing things and assuming the worst. After all, Merlin seemed to have no worrying reaction to Morgana’s indecipherable words.

And then Arthur became preoccupied with a not at all unpleasant sensation sweeping over his body as Morgana ended her strange incantation, or whatever it was.

Arthur gave Merlin a significant look – wondering if he felt that sensation as well. He got his answer from seeing Merlin’s eyes go wide in surprise and confusion.

“Do you?” Merlin whispered to Arthur.

Morgana paid them no mind. Arthur wasn’t sure if his sister was intentionally ignoring them or not. She had finished her curse-sounding incantation and was peering inside a big box behind her.

Arthur nodded, confirming that Merlin wasn’t alone in having this feeling.

Merlin was first to speak up to Morgana, “Morgana? Are we supposed to be feeling this strange sensation?”

Morgana turned around to face Merlin. She smiled in what may have been considered as innocent, but Arthur couldn’t help but think, ‘something wicked this way comes’ upon seeing that smile.

“You can let go of each other’s hands now,” Morgana advised them.

Arthur and Merlin did so, but the sensation still didn’t subside. Arthur almost felt like he could have held Merlin’s hand for a while longer before he even realized they hadn’t separated yet. It was undoubtedly an odd feeling to have. Arthur didn’t think he had felt this connected to Merlin before.

What if Morgana’s soul bonding ritual wasn’t just symbolic after all?

“Does this sensation hurt?” Morgana asked conversationally.

“No…” Merlin answered, thrown off by Morgana’s response.

“What is going on, Morgana? Just tell us,” Arthur demanded.

Morgana didn’t rise to his bait. She remained calm. “Since what you both feel doesn’t hurt either of you -- that is a good thing. It confirms that you truly love each other. It’s nothing to worry about,” she reassured Merlin and Arthur. “Now I have one last part of the ritual to perform.”

“You still haven’t explained the sensation. Morgana, is your soul bonding ritual really meant to bind souls together?”

“You’re getting smarter everyday, Arthur,” Morgana quipped with a smirk. “Really, trust me here. This was meant to happen. You need to let me finish and everything will make perfect sense to both of you afterwards.”

Merlin bit his lip. “What are you talking about, Morgana?” He asked.

“You, of all people, should accept the peculiarities of life,” Morgana said matter-of-factly, her tone serene. “Especially with your sister Freya having her magic power…”

“Did she--?” Merlin wanted to know if Freya had told Morgana about it.

Since he and Freya were young, their mother had forbid Freya to reveal her sole magical ability to strangers. This had been after Freya had exhibited a curious affinity with water. She could manipulate water into different shapes with her hands like a clown would make animals out of balloons. Their mother had been very concerned about ill-intentioned people coming to take Freya away and experimenting on her.

Always wanting to please mother, Freya followed her orders. Merlin remembered him and Freya being amused by how it was Freya, not Merlin who shared his name with a great mythical sorcerer, who possessed magic. Even if it was just one magical ability, the water talent was still impressive. Merlin didn’t mind that he didn’t have a lick of magic in him. Instead, he did his best to protect Freya however he could.

But now that he and Freya were adults – into their twenties – Freya was free to decide who to share her secret with. Their mother couldn’t stop her now.

“Oh if you only knew… it was a very good guess. I told her that I suspected, and she accepted that I knew,” Morgana explained with a shrug. “But we are straying from the ritual. You will continue with this, right? Nothing wrong with a little strangeness. The two of you will thank me after this, I promise you.”

Arthur raised his brow, unconvinced. “Could have used a disclaimer: ‘Warning: this soul bonding ritual is real and will bind your soul to someone else’s.’”

Merlin squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. “Morgana’s right. We should finish the soul bonding. I’ve always felt – maybe from the moment I first saw you -- that there was something special between us. I think we should see this through, Arthur.”

“All right,” Arthur agreed. He had to admit that he felt similarly about Merlin.

Morgana looked happy, grateful that she could resume the ritual. “Perfect. Now I have a phoenix egg and a dragon egg,” she informed them.

She went to take out the two identical eggs and set them out in the empty space between Merlin and Arthur.

They noticed that there were locks on each egg as if the outside shell was simply a cover for the actual egg inside. That made the most sense since both eggs would look different from one another, right?

Then again, Arthur knew that neither he nor Merlin knew how either creature’s egg would look. Considering a phoenix and a dragon were both mythical creatures, of course they wouldn’t.

Anyway, Arthur doubted the eggs were real despite Morgana’s oddities. How could she ever have obtained real eggs of creatures that didn’t exist?

She couldn’t. Obviously.

“Your look of disbelief is charming, Arthur. Truly,” Morgana remarked with a wicked smile. “The eggs _are_ real. Believe me or not, but they are. They are inside these shells to preserve a sense of mystery to this last part. Each of you will touch an egg. You may think it will be a random selection, but fate has long decided which magical creature’s egg is best suited to you,” she told them matter-of-factly.

“Not much surprise there if you think about it,” Arthur declared thoughtfully. “Since my last name means ‘chief _dragon_ ’ and Merlin shares a name with the Merlin falcon, so he’s definitely getting the bird egg. Also, the legend of Merlin says he could’ve been immortal. And a phoenix can rise from the ashes to be reborn again and again. There we have it – mystery solved.”

“Oh you read about the legend of Merlin? Thought you only focused on stories about King Arthur. I was beginning to lose hope,” Merlin said in a tone of mock-despair.

“I try,” Arthur admitted, smiling at him and punching him in the shoulder in jest.

Morgana cleared her throat loudly to get their attention. “As expected, you always want to take the mystery out of everything,” she shot back at Arthur shooting a glare in his direction. “Despite Arthur’s predictions, neither of you will know which egg you will touch. Maybe Arthur’s conclusions are correct, maybe they’re not. Merlin, you should go first. Place your wrapped hand over one of the eggs,” she directed him.

He put his hand over the egg that was to Arthur’s right. Arthur then placed his hand over the remaining egg.

Once they both had a hand on their respective eggs, they were surprised to find themselves envisioning being somewhere else in their mind’s eye.

Merlin was in a forest with tall moss-covered trees and ancient redwoods. All sorts of furry creatures wandered the dewy forest floor. Birds chirped and sang in the treetops and in the clear skies above. He swore that he literally felt as if magic was in the air, crackling and sparking all around him in this unfamiliar forest. A scarlet-gold bird that he guessed was a phoenix swooped down. That was when the vision ended for Merlin.

Arthur found himself standing on a jutting cliff in a vast, dimly lit cavern. He felt that if he had been just a boy, then he would’ve expected to have nightmares after being here. He half expected a dragon to appear and eat him for dinner. Arthur was grateful when the vision faded away before a dragon could make its grand entrance. Even so, out of the corner of his eye, Arthur could see one in flight approaching him before the vision ended.

Arthur felt rather pleased that his predictions were right. Even if he’d rather avoid coming face to face with a dragon. He had his limits.

Morgana asked them what they both saw. When Merlin described the forest, he rolled his eyes when Arthur made a quip about him being in the Enchanted Forest. Arthur talked about the cavern he was in, and how he was sure a whole host of dragons lived there hoarding their treasure stash.

Merlin was disappointed that Arthur didn’t get to fully see an actual dragon. Maybe the vision knew Arthur was a spoilsport and that’s why it ended before he could get a good look at one?

“Or Arthur was worried the dragon would eat him, and made sure to leave before that happened,” Morgana concluded smartly.

“Hold on. I had no control over the vision,” Arthur defended himself. “This is _your_ ritual, Morgana. This was your idea. I wasn’t worried at all. I would have faced a dragon if I had the chance to.”

“You almost make a convincing argument,” Merlin put in with a teasing smile.

“Oh, side with Morgana, why don’t you, Merlin?” Arthur retorted a bit grumpily.

“The soul bonding ritual is over,” Morgana said with a wide, amused smile. “I don’t know about you two, but it seems to have been especially successful. I hope you enjoy being soul bonded together.”

Arthur raised his brow at her. “Isn’t the point of this ritual not to fight at the end of it?”

“Arthur, Arthur, Arthur--” she chided, sounding as she were speaking to a petulant child. “I can’t perform miracles. Go eat some chocolate or pistachios -- they’re good aphrodisiacs. That should help.”

“I’m just fine without your advice for a better sex life, Morgana,” Arthur countered.

Merlin shook his head, amused by the whole thing. “You two are hilarious. Thank you for doing this ritual, Morgana. Even if you didn’t tell us it wasn’t just symbolic beforehand. Anything we need to know about the changes we’ll experience?”

“What’s life without a good mystery?” Morgana said with a secretive smile. “You both will find out soon enough.”

Morgana allowed them to keep their red and white silk cloths – as “souvenirs” of their soul bonding experience. Arthur gave his red silk cloth to Merlin to keep, citing that he’d probably “accidentally” lose it if he held on to it.

Before they even reached their car to leave Morgana’s, Merlin discovered a new talent that they shared. He had the idea that if they were soul bonded; one consequence just had to be that they could speak silently to one another. Arthur scoffed at the assumption, commenting that clearly Merlin watched too many sci-fi films. But Arthur decided to give it a shot anyway. No harm done in trying after all.

Merlin was right. He could speak silently to Arthur – mind-to-mind. And Arthur could do the same with Merlin.

 _“What if we hear each other’s thoughts too?”_ Arthur wondered silently to Merlin. He wasn’t thrilled about that prospect. There was a lot Arthur was okay sharing with Merlin, but even he had his limits. _“That sounds like something that the soul bonding could make happen.”_

Not liking Arthur’s grim tone of voice, Merlin tried to stay positive to make Arthur feel better. _“I wouldn’t mind if I heard your thoughts. We can handle whatever happens. It’ll just take some getting used to. But I don’t think I hear your thoughts now. I can only hear what you directly say to me into my mind,”_ he confirmed silently.

“I’m going to kill Morgana for tricking us like this,” Arthur promised heartily. “She’s such a witch.”

“Just shut up and drive, Arthur. You’re only bitter because you haven’t had your daily serving of aphrodisiacs,” Merlin said with a grin.

Arthur relented, a laugh escaping him as he decided to relax a bit. It was their anniversary after all. No soul bonding ritual was going to put a damper on that. “Yeah. Yeah. You have a good point there, Merlin.”

Merlin kissed him on the cheek and Arthur started up the engine. They left Morgana’s, looking forward to celebrating the rest of their anniversary weekend together.

~ * ~

The next evening, Arthur and Merlin went to dinner at a fancy restaurant. Arthur insisted that he’d pay for it as an anniversary gift. Merlin agreed as it was small compensation for his behavior during their evening at Morgana’s. Arthur’s argument of him being physically incapable of being completely pleasant around Morgana was received with a long sigh.

Fortunately, nothing strange had happened as a result of the soul bonding besides mind-to-mind communication. They had done their best to take the change in stride and had begun speaking silently to each other when they had wanted a conversation to remain private. It was one change that Arthur and Merlin felt they could learn to live with.

When the waiter came by to take their orders, that’s when the evening made a turn for the worst. The waiter was a handsome dark-haired man who looked like he modeled as his day job. The problem – at least to Arthur – was that the waiter started flirting with Merlin. Or maybe he was being overly friendly, but Arthur took offense to that. He tensed up, locking his jaw.

Arthur gave Merlin a significant look. Merlin got the message, but he looked somewhat annoyed at Arthur’s unnecessary jealous behavior.

“So you two are on a date?” The waiter asked them casually.

“Yes. We’re celebrating our three year anniversary as a couple,” Merlin told the waiter, whose name was Gwaine.

“We’re planning to get married,” Arthur put in abruptly.

He sounded more defensive than Merlin thought was warranted.

Merlin stared at him. _“You’re overdoing it.”_ He told him silently.

 _“Just want to make things clear with him,”_ Arthur said silently back with a shrug.

“All right. Congratulations to the both of you on your three years together,” Gwaine acknowledged as smoothly as he could despite Arthur’s attitude throwing him off balance. “I’ll get your orders,” he declared.

Wisely deciding to escape the awkwardness of the moment, Gwaine departed.

“What was that about, Arthur?” Merlin asked him again, this time in a hissed whisper. “I swear if you say, ‘you’re mine’, I’m shooting you in the face with a crossbow faster than you can say Pendragon.”

“A crossbow, really? Where did that come from?” Arthur wanted to know, purposefully sidestepping the real issue at hand.

“Must be my inner medieval side coming out,” Merlin quipped back without a second thought. “Seriously, Arthur. The waiter was only being friendly. It’s called good customer service.”

Arthur sighed, rubbing his face wearily. He looked at Merlin, and Merlin could easily see that Arthur wasn’t feeling well. His face looked flushed and Merlin wondered if he was running a fever.

“Something came over me. It was uncalled for, I agree. I apologize,” Arthur tried to smooth over the situation. “I’m feeling a bit hot. I’m just going outside to get some fresh air…”

Concerned about Arthur, Merlin reached out his hand to touch Arthur’s brow. “You’re burning up. We should go home, Arthur.”

Arthur shook his head. “No, no. Just time outside in the cold air will do the trick. Don’t worry about me.”

Merlin gave him a look of disbelief. He shook his head, placing his hand over Arthur’s cheek. “I can’t help it.”

Arthur smiled lightly. “I’ll be back. You won’t miss me. It’s probably nothing,” he tried to reassure him.

Merlin didn’t appear reassured but he let him go, vowing he’d come after Arthur if he didn’t return by the time their food arrived.

~ * ~

Arthur leaned against the wall outside, breathing in the cool, refreshing air. He touched his forehead again and he was disconcerted to find it still feeling hot. How did he suddenly get this fever out of nowhere? At least he didn’t feel delirious yet and he could still walk without feeling dizzy.

He felt ashamed of himself for being possessive over Merlin when he didn’t have a reason to be. That waiter Gwaine hadn’t been groping Merlin or anything… but still, it was like a fire had sprung up in him, causing him to overreact. At least he hadn’t done anything like flip over the table or something else that would have caused a scene. Arthur couldn’t believe that he was thinking about fire. Morgana’s soul bonding ritual had him making analogies now with fire. _Just great._

And then at that moment, a small flame of fire shot out of Arthur’s mouth. Like a dragon. Fortunately, the flame retracted back into his mouth like a boomerang instead of creating a bonfire on the pavement. He didn’t feel burning inside his mouth either. Was this unexpected ‘talent’ a part of him now so that he didn’t feel pained by the fire? It was the best conclusion he could think of.

Arthur cursed Morgana. He hoped that he wouldn’t actually turn into a dragon. Whatever weird magical powers Morgana had, Arthur doubted she could transform him into a dragon. Or Merlin into a phoenix.

Curious, Arthur thought of fire coming out of his mouth and at the same time, a flame came out of his mouth again.

And thankfully, his brow didn’t feel on fire anymore. The feverish feeling was only temporary. Probably just there to alert him that he could now breathe fire out of his mouth. Because that’s what Arthur had always wanted, he thought sarcastically to himself.

Feeling resigned to his unexpected magical power or whatever it was, Arthur headed back inside.

Merlin would love to hear about this.

~ * ~

“You’re looking better,” Merlin indicated when Arthur returned to their table. “Weird how that fever came and went like that. Are you feeling better?” He wanted to know.

Merlin reached out his hand to press it against Arthur’s brow.

“I’ll have to get back to you on feeling better,” Arthur informed him honestly.

“What is it?” Merlin asked in concern, after he removed his hand from Arthur’s brow. “Your forehead is fine. Your fever is gone, I think.”

Arthur communicated silently with Merlin in case anyone was listening in. _“I can breathe fire out of my mouth. Like a bloody dragon. No thanks to Morgana’s soul bonding ritual.”_

Merlin stared at him in disbelief, looking torn between laughing and being worried about Arthur. _“Does it hurt? When you do it?”_ he asked him silently.

Arthur shook his head. _“No. Otherwise I’d be having some choice words with Morgana. I just think of fire, and it happens…”_ he explained silently back.

Merlin looked thoughtful. “I almost dread to consider what’ll happen to me,” he remarked. “Could you show it to me?” he asked Arthur.

Arthur surveyed the restaurant, not feeling confident that the people in the restaurant would mind their own business and not pay attention to whatever he would do. And their food hadn’t arrived yet. The last thing he wanted was for that waiter Gwaine to see him do his fire thing.

“Maybe in a more private place?” Arthur suggested.

Merlin grinned. “What, like the bedroom?” he countered cheekily. “Just really quickly. No one will notice and our food won’t arrive for maybe half an hour or so.”

Arthur relented. His desire to show the fire talent to Merlin won out. If it was just a small flame, then it was no big deal.

“All right. I’ll do it,” Arthur declared.

Merlin smiled. He leaned forward in his seat to get a closer look at what Arthur would do.

Thinking of fire, Arthur had a small, thin flame come out of his mouth before it shot back into his mouth.

Merlin looked reflexively tense for a moment, believing that the flame would burn Arthur’s mouth.

“The fire doesn’t hurt me,” Arthur reassured him again. “Whatever Morgana’s soul bonding ritual did, it made the fire a part of me. Not that I asked for this.”

“I guess I know who to call to make the bonfire for Bonfire Night,” Merlin concluded mischievously.

“I won’t hear the end of it, will I?” Arthur groaned.

“No, I don’t think so,” Merlin said cheerfully. “Oh, and Gwaine came by again while you were outside. He wanted to say sorry for whatever he did to get you so irritated with him. He told him he has a girlfriend, Elena, and he’s happy with her.”

“But come on,” Arthur argued. “He was _flirting_ with you, Merlin.”

Merlin gave him a small smile. “Gwaine told me he was bi too. And he can’t help being a flirt. It’s a part of his personality. Like you can be stubborn sometimes.”

“Flirting with anything that moves?”

“Something like that…wouldn’t go as far as animals,” Merlin clarified and Arthur really didn’t need a mental image of Gwaine with an animal. “You should just pay him extra tip to make up for it,” Merlin suggested to him.

“Right,” Arthur agreed reluctantly. “So he’s a friend of yours now?”

Merlin shrugged. “Why not? You can never have enough friends.”

To their relief, the rest of their time at the restaurant went by rather uneventfully. That is, they didn’t gain any more surprise magic powers and Arthur didn’t set the place on fire.

~ * ~

When they returned to the house they shared, Merlin told Arthur he wasn’t feeling well. That he may have a fever. Arthur didn’t want to think that Merlin caught it from him. What a rotten way to end their anniversary weekend, for Merlin to feel sick.

“Maybe it’ll just be a temporary fever like you had,” Merlin hoped, trying to be optimistic. “You barely had it for half an hour, right?”

Arthur nodded.

But Merlin’s fever remained steady, not going away in half an hour or an hour or two hours. He felt feverish the whole night. Feeling partially responsible for Merlin contracting the fever, Arthur took care of him. He monitored Merlin’s temperature between getting him to take Lemsip. Every so often he pressed a cold, damp cloth to Merlin’s brow to insure he was keeping cool. Drowsily, Merlin told him that he wouldn’t allow Arthur to stick him in an ice-cold bath.

Fortunately having to go the ice-cold bath route was unnecessary. The fever didn’t go up to dangerously high levels. Merlin hated hospitals, so he was grateful that the fever didn’t force him to go to one. But he still felt weak and dizzy when he tried to walk.

The following day, Monday, Arthur called Gwen on Merlin’s behalf, informing her that Merlin wouldn’t be able to come into work at her bookshop that day because he was feeling under the weather. Gwen was understanding and hoped that Merlin would feel better soon. She promised that she would visit sometime that day.

Merlin and Gwen co-owned the bookshop-café, Ensorcelled Reads and Rosemary Café – Gwen had named the café after her grandmother, but the name of the bookshop was, predictably, a result of Merlin’s sense of humour.

Arthur had first met Merlin just over three years ago at that bookshop-café. He was head of a book publishing company, The Sword of the Phoenix, which specialized in fantasy, horror and mystery novels. So one fortuitous day, Arthur had decided to visit Ensorcelled Reads and the rest was history.

“Do you think we should call Morgana?” Arthur asked Merlin before he headed into work. “Your fever has to be a consequence of the soul bonding ritual. Like mine was. Who knows what will happen to you.”

Merlin shook his head. “I think she wants us to deal with this on our own. It’s not worth contacting her. I doubt my fever will go too high. I just have to wait and see what happens…by tomorrow I’ll be fine. I’m sure,” Merlin assured Arthur confidently.

Arthur was almost reassured by Merlin’s conviction. Yet he didn’t like how, even after the medication, Merlin’s fever still persisted.

“You’re supposed to be the phoenix, Merlin. They combust into flames to be reborn,” Arthur reminded him. “That doesn’t leave me reassured.”

“That’s not going to happen to me,” Merlin said with conviction. “Now, please, go to work, Arthur. I’ll be fine.”

Arthur was still reluctant to leave him on his own, and told him he’d come home for lunch. Merlin told him he could do whatever he liked, but Arthur didn’t miss the grateful look on Merlin’s face when he left their bedroom.

~ * ~

Upon returning home for lunch, Arthur was shocked to see a strange golden sheen creating a bright glow on every surface. It was like something you’d see in a fantasy or fairytale movie. Fairy dust or whenever magic was at work. He didn’t know what to make of it.

Fortunately the golden glowing dust, or whatever it was, appeared to be harmless. He could breathe properly, so the dust wasn’t noxious gas – it was just something that had decided to cover Arthur and Merlin’s house. Because Morgana’s soul bonding ritual hadn’t resulted in enough odd things so far, Arthur thought wryly.

Still baffled, Arthur quickly went to check in on Merlin.

He was on his mobile, speaking to Lancelot. Besides being Gwen’s fiancé, Lancelot was also a nurse. Gwen must have contacted him to notify him in regards to Merlin being ill.

Merlin smiled upon seeing Arthur. He thanked Lancelot for his advice and assured him that he really was feeling better. Although from where Arthur was standing, Merlin didn’t look all that well. His face was still flushed, the covers kicked away from him and he was sweating. After Merlin ended the call, he gave Arthur his undivided attention.

Arthur sat down on the bed after Merlin shifted over to make room for him. “You look like crap,” Arthur informed him bluntly.

Merlin gave him a half-smile. “Maybe you were right. I just may go up in flames,” he joked lightly.

Arthur frowned. “Shut up. Don’t even joke about that,” he admonished him sternly. He touched Merlin’s brow. “You’re burning up. It feels worse than before.”

Merlin attempted to ease Arthur’s mind. “It fluctuates. I was feeling better about an hour ago, I think. Now it’s going up a little again. Gwen came by. She brought me some soup and Freya brought me ice cream and a whole lot of candy. As any good sister should,” Merlin remarked happily.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Do you feel delirious? Any hallucinations?”

“If you mean I’m seeing dancing penguins, then no, I’m not,” Merlin informed him with a small smile. “And I don’t feel like I’m dying even if taking medication doesn’t help as much as I’d like it to. I should feel better tomorrow.”

“I hope you’re psychic then,” Arthur said grimly, sighing.

“You sound like you have such confidence in me,” Merlin told him in mock sarcasm. He changed the subject by asking Arthur, “You see the golden glow all around the house, right? It appeared out of nowhere soon after you left. I asked Freya and Gwen if they could see it too, but they said no. I was surprised with Freya considering she has magic. You would think she’d be attuned to strange, potentially magical occurrences.”

Arthur told him that he could see the golden sheen too. “It’s probably another result of the soul bonding ritual. The gold stuff could be magic.”

Merlin nodded. “Yeah. I think so too.”

“Maybe it’s your magic, Merlin. Your name is _Merlin_ after all,” Arthur pointed out the obvious.

Merlin gave him a look. “Thanks for reminding me, Sherlock. I wouldn’t have figured that out myself otherwise,” he said dryly. “I don’t understand why it’s surrounded the inside of the house. What is the magic waiting for?”

“The right moment,” Arthur decided. He stuck his hand in Merlin’s hair, ruffling it to Merlin’s weak dismay.

“Has this golden glow done anything memorable?” Arthur asked Merlin.

Merlin shook his head. “No. It just shimmers and glows. Nothing too alarming.”

Arthur looked thoughtfully at the strange golden luster. “It’s like a cliffhanger. You have to wait.”

Merlin agreed. “You should go eat something,” he suggested to Arthur.

“What about you?” Arthur asked. “Have you been able to get up and walk?”

Merlin shrugged. “I had the soup Gwen brought me not long ago. I can walk as far as the bathroom. Lucky it’s connected to this room. But I don’t think I can walk further than that.”

Arthur kissed him softly on the mouth and then he announced that he would get something to eat from the fridge.

Merlin was left staring, almost transfixed, by the golden sheen on the wall. He was eerily reminded of another time when he had similarly been so spellbound by something.

He vaguely recalled that it had been someone’s funeral. Someone had died, and only he remained to mourn the loss.

Immediately, Merlin did his best to not think about that odd recollection. He didn’t want to think about anyone dying because then it would lead to thoughts of himself dying. Despite what he had told Arthur, Merlin had to admit that he was a little afraid of what might happen to him. Something didn’t feel right, and he just knew something was coming for him.

~ * ~

After Arthur left to return to work, Merlin fell asleep as the golden glow began to hum with energy.

Merlin dreamed.

 _In his dream, he was driving in his car down a one-lane country road as the sun set and the sky grew dark._

 _Up ahead, he could just make out the sign that said, “Phoenix Way.”_

 _But that hadn’t been where Merlin had been going, right? Before he could think further on the matter, he had to slam on the brakes._

 _A big gray wolf was out on the road in front of him. The wolf was blocking his way._

 _He swerved out of the way and crashed into the sign. The impact of the sudden maneuver knocked him out, but Merlin swore he heard the wolf howling right before he fell unconscious._

 _When Merlin woke up what felt like only moments later, he was lying flat on his back. He was in the same forest he had seen himself in earlier during Morgana’s soul bonding ritual. What Arthur had said had to be the Enchanted Forest. Ancient redwoods and tall moss-covered trees. Squirrels, foxes, and badgers roamed the forest floor and birds sang overhead._

 _As if fairies had come and released their fairy dust throughout the forest, golden dust particles floated leisurely and caught in the gentle breeze. But what startled Merlin most were the eight scarlet-gold phoenixes that surrounded him. The group formed a circle around him and they were staring at him._

 _Merlin sat up and felt incredibly unnerved by the situation. Was he meant to do something? What were the phoenixes waiting for?_

 _“You will have your gift returned to you,” Merlin heard someone say. He wasn’t sure who it was, and he could only assume it had to be one of the phoenixes, despite none of their beaks moving as if they were speaking._

 _Mental communication could be the only answer._

 _“All right. Is that what the glowing stuff was?” Merlin asked._

 _Unfortunately, Merlin didn’t get an answer to that question. Instead, the same voice advised him to relax._

 _Merlin did the best he could to relax despite the confusing situation he was in. A big shapeless golden mass came toward him._

 _He could do nothing – and to be honest, Merlin didn’t feel the desire to stop the golden mass from doing whatever it had to do – as the golden something was absorbed into him. The eight phoenixes still surrounded him and the scarlet-gold birds watched, enraptured, by the scene before them._

 _Merlin felt the colour of his eyes change to a gold colour. He couldn’t quite explain how he could feel something like that when he didn’t even have a mirror to witness the change. Merlin just knew that his magic was now fully activated within him and his eyes were flashing gold at that moment._

 _He certainly didn’t expect himself to be consumed in flames. Yet it was a peculiar sensation as Merlin didn’t feel the pain of burning skin, but instead the cool temperature of water. Ironically enough, his whole body was on fire, but he himself simply felt as if he was being doused in water._

 _He disassociated himself from what was happening, trying to figure out how nonsensical his conclusion was. He should be feeling pain now, right? But Merlin wasn’t._

 _And Arthur was right again…Merlin was combusting in flames as he’d predicted. Though Merlin doubted that Arthur would ever have foreseen the irony of how the event would play out._

 _“Your magic is protecting you. The touch of fire will help you in remembering what you have forgotten,” the same voice explained to Merlin._

 _The fire subsided and left him entirely. Merlin let out a sigh of relief. No matter if the fire hadn’t hurt him physically, he was still grateful to see the fire gone. After all, as anyone else, he had been taught that fire was dangerous and hurt you. It wasn’t something to be trifled with._

 _“Who are you? Who is speaking to me? Is it one of you?” Merlin asked, looking at each of the eight phoenixes._

 _“I am far from a phoenix, Sorcerer. I am the wolf you nearly ran over.”_

 _Then before Merlin could process that revelation and ask another question, the dream shifted._

 _This dream was more familiar and comforting. It was a childhood memory of his mother reading a story to him and Freya when they both had been sick in bed. Freya had conjured a floppy-eared water puppy for herself because puppies always made her feel better. Merlin had watched as the water puppy managed to make his way haphazardly all around the bed before settling back into Freya’s arms._

 _“Once upon a time, my sweethearts,” their mother began in an engaging voice, “in a castle far, far away…”_

Slowly, Merlin woke up with the remnants of his mother’s soothing words echoing in his head.

Then he sat up suddenly in bed, his eyes wide open and alert now. His fever and the golden sheen had gone.

But what had really captured his attention were the memories of his past life returning. As that wolf had told him. Merlin didn’t even bother to think of the impossibility of a talking wolf. It was a small matter compared to recalling his long ago past life.

He remembered growing up in Ealdor, then there was Camelot and Arthur. Always Arthur. There had been Freya as the Lady of the Lake, and Merlin found it intriguing how fate had changed their relationship. When once Merlin had considered her a lover, now, in this life, Freya was his twin sister. Fate surely had a twisted sense of humour. But he still loved her, even if the love was in a different form now. At least one mystery was solved: Freya’s past role as Lady of the Lake finally explained her magical affinity with water.

And how could he forget being a Dragonlord? He remembered Kilgharrah who had been something like a mentor – frustratingly cryptic more often than not. Then Aithusa, the white dragon he had witnessed being born and who foretold the advent of a golden age for the Albion he and Arthur would build together. Merlin knew that Arthur as King and he as his advisor did build that Albion. They succeeded despite the bumps in the road. Their love for one another overcame the obstacles.

Merlin decided that it was no wonder that they had met in this new life of theirs. That they had carved out a life with each other. He didn’t think he could love Arthur any more than he already did. Remembering his past life only confirmed his feelings.

He hoped that Arthur would remember his past life too. If that was another result of the soul bonding ritual, then surely Arthur would have to?

~ * ~

On Arthur’s way home, he drove through a tunnel and what was on the other end of the tunnel was far from the road.

Startled didn’t even begin to cover his reaction. He found himself in the same vast cavern he had seen in that vision during Morgana’s “well-meaning” soul bonding ritual.

The main difference here was that the cavern wasn’t empty anymore. A lot of dragons were flying above and below him in the seemingly bottomless depths of this mysterious place. Arthur’s car had landed on a high cliff; the edge was just a few feet away from him.

Arthur took a deep breath. So he was now trapped in a cavern with dragons that would very likely eat him or make sure he went out in a blaze of fire. He could handle this, right?

With more than a little trepidation, he exited his car.

Before him on the cliff he was surprised to find a small, white dragon – the magical creature’s head while standing on his hind legs only reached Arthur's mid-calf.

Arthur stared at the little dragon. Could dragons be that small? He thought all dragons were huge, like the ones flying around him.

The white dragon looked back at him expectantly. He made little sounds that Arthur would consider rather cute if he wasn’t expecting any of the big dragons to swoop down and make Arthur their next meal.

“What do you want?” Arthur asked the white dragon. He felt a bit silly since he didn’t think the dragon could answer him properly.

The dragon rubbed his little head against Arthur’s leg.

“You want to be my guide then?” Arthur decided.

The dragon made a noise that Arthur figured sounded close enough to a ‘yes’.

“Okay. You seem friendly enough,” Arthur told the white dragon.

He held out his open palm toward the dragon and the little dragon hopped into his hand.

“Here you go,” Arthur said as he placed the dragon on his shoulder. “You look like an Aithusa. How about that? Do you want to be called Aithusa?” he asked the dragon.

Meanwhile, Arthur was wondering where in the world he got Aithusa from. He wasn’t even sure what it meant. Yet it felt right to call the dragon by that name.

The dragon appeared to like the name. He patted Arthur’s head with a clawed paw in what Arthur hoped was appreciation.

A long, stone bridge magically appeared, connecting the cliff’s edge to whatever lay on the bridge’s other side.

“I should go across the bridge,” Arthur said out loud, feeling somehow like he was more in control of the bizarre situation if he talked out loud.

The big dragons flying around the vast space seemed to largely ignore him and Aithusa. But, if anything, the presence of the dragons definitely added to the danger-charged atmosphere that Arthur was in. Only an idiot would be brave enough to steal anything valuable the dragons had in their possession with this number of them about.

Aithusa squeaked in what sounded like agreement. He flew to Arthur’s other shoulder.

The trouble was that the bridge didn’t have any railings, so Arthur had to rely on his balance to get across it without falling into the cavern’s depths.

He grit his teeth in determination. He could do this without falling off, of course he could.

With that thought Arthur stepped on to the bridge, with his arms spread out to either side for balance.

Even Aithusa remained silent, as if he knew that Arthur needed to concentrate on his task.

After what felt like forever, but maybe was only an hour, Arthur reached the end of the bridge.

He stepped on to another cliff, relief sweeping through him at not being on the bridge any longer.

A stone was upon the cliff, a stone that was as high as his hip. Arthur didn’t feel too surprised to find a golden-hilted sword encased in the stone.

The sword in the stone.

Arthur shook his head. In the back of his mind he had already realized that this whole otherworldly experience was a result of Morgana’s soul bonding ritual. Yet he thought the whole ‘sword in the stone’ was rather unoriginal. Anyone who picked up a book on Arthurian legend would know about it. Arthur always looked forward to any opportunity to get on Morgana’s case and this was no exception.

Aithusa flew off his shoulder and down on to ground. Two wolf-sized dragons stood by the stone. One was a deep red colour and the other was a vibrant gold. The red and gold dragons breathed out fire when they saw Arthur moving to pull the sword out of the stone.

Arthur put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. I mean you no harm. This sword is mine,” he told them in such a sure voice that he believed it himself.

What if he really was that King Arthur? Reborn?

Was that the purpose of the soul bonding ritual in the end? Was Merlin the legendary sorcerer and advisor of King Arthur’s too?

Aithusa made happy, pleased noises upon Arthur’s confident words.

Apparently satisfied, the red and gold dragons moved aside and let Arthur pass to access the stone and sword.

Arthur took a deep breath and he grasped the golden hilt of the sword.

He pulled. The sword came out.

Arthur remembered his past life. The memories came flooding back to him.

~ * ~

Long after the days of King Arthur and the golden age of Albion, Merlin remembered that he and Morgana had been the only ones left of the ‘old crowd’ as they had called it. Arthur had died years before in the way he had always wanted – honourably in battle in a blaze of glory.

Morgana had turned over a new leaf, so to speak, maybe going soft and sentimental in her old age. Merlin had visited her for tea almost everyday. But one day, Morgana had succumbed to a case of pneumonia and she’d died.

Merlin had stayed by her bedside in Morgana’s last days. Her last words to him had been, “The phoenix and the dragon will return one day, Merlin.”

Back then, Merlin hadn’t understood what Morgana had meant by that. She’d been fond of speaking in riddles, and Merlin had decided it was best not to do anything about it.

The time would come when all would reveal itself.

Merlin had placed her on a funeral pyre to be sent off across the lake. Kilgharrah and Aithusa had been beside him – Aithusa more for comfort and support and Kilgharrah to light the pyre on fire with his breath. Kilgharrah had been all too happy to do it, his prejudices against Morgana still holding strong no matter how many years had passed.

Frankly, Merlin hadn’t been sure how long he’d stood there watching as the fiery pyre had moved further away with his magic to guide it. He had been almost hypnotized by the yellow-gold tinged orange flames flickering in a dancing rhythm.

When the pyre had been only a spark of firelight in the distance, Merlin had finally departed.

~ * ~

After Arthur had remembered his past life he decided to return the sword to its stone encasement. He had an irrepressible feeling that it wasn’t quite time yet for him to use the sword again. The battle was not to happen during this lifetime of his.

He surveyed the shining sword one more time before inserting the weapon back into the stone.

Arthur said a heartfelt goodbye to Aithusa. He now knew the significance of the white dragon and that Merlin had first named him Aithusa meaning; “the light of the sun” in the dragon tongue.

Arthur swore he’d only blinked, and then, a moment later, he had left the cavern.

He was back in his car and it was already parked in front of his and Merlin’s home. The things magic could do, Arthur thought with a shake of his head.

Arthur found Merlin in the kitchen. He was looking much better than he had before, nursing a cup of a tea and staring off into the distance.

“Hey. How are you?” Arthur asked him. He kissed him softly on the lips in greeting.

Merlin smiled at him. “I’m feeling better. Did you remember?”

Arthur nodded. “It was probably the most extraordinary experience I’ve had in this lifetime,” he confided in him. He sat down across from Merlin. “So the golden stuff? What was it?” Arthur asked, more for confirmation as he had a very good idea what it most likely had been.

“My magic, of course,” Merlin happily told him. “It’s all in me now.”

“I guess I should be more careful then,” Arthur teased lightly.

Merlin grinned at him. “I have something to show you.”

Arthur asked what it was. He fought to suppress a groan when Merlin said it was something from Morgana.

Merlin could tell that Arthur wasn’t too happy about it, idly commenting that Arthur had a problem. It had become an inside joke between them – Arthur’s issues with Morgana -- that Arthur could only shrug and put on his most conciliatory look.

Merlin took Arthur to their bedroom. Upon the bed lay a white teardrop-shaped egg with a touch of pale blue covering the bottom of it. The egg was fairly large -- about the size of an ostrich egg.

“Morgana left a note,” Merlin informed Arthur. He handed Arthur the note, which said,  
“To Arthur & Merlin:  
It still is a real dragon egg, Arthur. I thought you might like this, Merlin.  
Love,  
Morgana”

Arthur was torn between laughing at the absurdity of this and thinking it was nice of Morgana to do this for them. He wondered what she had planned for the phoenix egg, if that in fact had been real as well.

“We should see if the egg is real, right?” Merlin asked. He looked excited.

Arthur sighed, though in the face of Merlin’s enthusiasm, he couldn’t help but be swept up by it all. And anyway, Morgana was a lot of things, but she surely wasn’t a liar. At least she wouldn’t lie about this, not after the trouble she went through doing the soul bonding ritual.

“How do we do that? You’re the Dragonlord here after all,” Arthur said.

“We have to name the dragon. Like I did with Aithusa,” Merlin said knowledgeably. “What about Cafall?” Merlin suggested.

Arthur stared at him. “Really? We’re naming him after a dog?”

“A dog is a man’s best friend,” Merlin argued. “I think the name’s perfect. Very Arthurian legend even if you never had a dog named Cafall.”

“It’s all a mess if you think about it,” Arthur said thoughtfully. “All the different versions of the legend and no one can tell exactly which one is the right one. Of course how we lived it was the true tale.”

“I like the different versions. Makes things infinitely more interesting,” Merlin put in. “So you don’t object to the name?”

“I’ll go along with whatever you choose,” Arthur said easily. “Dragons aren’t my area of expertise.”

Merlin smiled. He set his hands over the egg and said the chosen name: Cafall.

He stepped back and the two of them watched as the egg cracked and a small metallic silver dragon hatched out of the egg.

“I’ve never seen a dragon that colour,” Arthur uttered.

Merlin could only grin. He looked ecstatic like he had received his birthday and Christmas gift all rolled into one. “He’s magnificent,” he remarked.

Merlin reached out to pet Cafall who croaked contentedly in response.

“I think he’s a type of dragon that will remain the size equivalent of a small dog for the rest of his life,” Merlin informed Arthur.

“How do you know that?” Arthur wondered.

Merlin looked at him, one hand still on the silver dragon. “I recall in my past life reading about silver dragons like this one. The text said these types of dragons stay small. It’ll be easier to keep him then. I could always magic him into a bird just in case.”

“Like a phoenix?” Arthur couldn’t resist suggesting cheekily.

Merlin raised his brow at him. “Don’t think that’ll help Cafall maintain a low-profile,” he told Arthur dryly. Arthur laughed, agreeing with him.

They smiled at one another, looking forward to this new path their lives were taking. Getting married seemed to be the best thing to do. Maybe by the same time next year, they would be an officially married couple.

Arthur had to admit that Morgana’s soul bonding ritual was probably the most brilliant idea she had ever had. He was grateful that Merlin had persuaded him to go through with it. He couldn’t think of a better person than Merlin to be soul bonded to.

*


End file.
